Supporters of a new Union Cab company descended on Portland City Hall in November wearing orange T-shirts. The Portland City Council gave Union Cab the green light to begin operations. Now other cabbies are filing suit.Beth Slovic/The Oregonian

The Dec. 7 suit from Arnold Arutyunov, Red Diamond and Nicolai Batranchuk argues that additional permits -- strictly regulated by the city -- will negatively affect the ability of other drivers to earn a living and that the city improperly approved them.

The Portland City Council voted 4-0 on Nov. 7 to grant a new driver-owned taxi company called Union Cab 50 permits.

City officials then argued that the increase -- the first in 14 years, with more likely to come -- will help rather than hurt drivers, because a "significant unmet need"
in the market is being filled by illegal, unpermitted cabs.

The lawsuit takes issue with other factors guiding the city's decision, which the Revenue Bureau put together. "The Bureau also concluded that increased airport passengers supported the issuance of more permits, although the Port of Portland recently lowered the cap on the number of taxis allowed to wait for fares at PDX in response to a taxi supply far in excess of rider demand," the suit reads.